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NAVY APPROPRIATION BILL. 



SPEECH 



HON. JNO. K. ITBRIDE, 



OF 



OMl^Gr O IST, 



ON THE 



NAVY APPROPRIATION BILL, 

Delivered in the House of Representatiyes Feb. 19, 1864. 



WASHINGTON; 

PRINTED BY W. H. M00K3, 
No. 484 Eleventh gtr'^e': 





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SPEECH OF HON. JOHN R. McBRIDE. 



The Honse beiuf? in Comwiltee of the Wbolo on the state of Uie ir;Liou, and liav'D- 
Lcder consideration the Navy AppropriRtion Bill, Mr. McBRIDE said : 

Mr Chairman : As the Representative of a people who in my election dis- 
regarded all partisan issues, I took my seat upon this floor with an earnest wish 
to imitate their sacritice of political associations and to work earnestly aiul 
heartily with those whose purpose was to vindicate the imperiled integrity of 
the nation and compel obedience to its legitimate authority. 

Cloming from the shores of the Pacitic/from among a people many of whom 
know hy experience the inconvenience and the sense of helplessness to which 
a want ol the protection of the national ensign cop.signed them, I speak for 
them and their devotion to the integrity of the Union with somethin<r of the 
i'eeling that is supposed to be i)eculiar to those who have suffered from the 
oppressions ol other Governments and have at last found protection and a home 
beneath tlie tolds ot our own banner. 

hi early youth, at\er a weary journey of two thousand miles from tlie border 
oi civilization in the valley ol' the Mississippi, (•found myself on the' banks ^ 
the Columbia, within hearing of the roar of the great ocean into which it fall'^ 
m the midst of a wilderness of mountain and solitude, with onlv a handful ct' 
brave but hardy pioneers to whom J could appeal for protection 'and a home 
{he ownership ot the country was undetermined; the value and resources of 
It were unknown; the subjects of the British Crown exceeded in number the 
residents who were American citizens, and the majesty of national authority 
was unteit and unknown. ' -^ 

I often heard, sir, in those days of our young State's early history, the Am'^rj- 
can citizen express his hope that the day might soon come when we couhl 
hoist the Ihig of freedom above our homes again asui enjoy its blessings a'>d 
protection. And when a toil-worn emigrant arrived from the far-off lanrrwhieh 
we stiU loved to call home, and brought a tattered newspaper to the friend who 
preceded him, its. soiled pages were eagerly scann.ed to know if yet the vex'^d 
question of boundary had been settled, or wheth.er we still must invoke in vain 
the rights of American citizenship. The paint'ul disappointment, the deep ex- 
pressions of regret and despair which were common around me as vear by year 
passed away and we were left without notice and without aid or protection from 
the home Government, left an impression upon my heart of the pas.Monate de- 
votion ol an Amehcan citizen to the flag and institutions of his country whirh 
•I shall ever remember witli the pride of one who believes that devotion to be 
not only just but honorable. And, sir, when after years of lon<rin(r and impa- 
tience the news came that the title to ihe domain where our weak and '^catlcre-i 
settlements were located wa« connrmed to t!ie American Government a thrill of 



patriotic joy ran throughout their length; and when, on the 3d of March, 1849, 
the little ship ilmt bore him to our shores landed the Governor appointed by tfte 
President at Oregon City, and liis proclamation announcing that the laws of the 
L'nited States were extended over the country for its protection was issued, none 
but those who witnessed the feeling that it invoked and the demonstrations 
wliich greeted it can realize the joy that pervaded the community at again being 
beneath the protecting care of the parent Government. 

I allude to this part of the history of our Stare to show how early and ardent 
has been the attachment of its citizens to the central Government, and when, in 
llie height of its prosperity we felt not only its want of care but its cold and 
cruel neglect, the first exhibition of a sense of justice toward us was met by 
demonstrations of gratitude and affection which showed how deep a hold the 
love of our common country had upon the hearts of our people. And the 
patriotism which they evinced then they cherish now ; no trick of politics or 
device of traitors can draw them away from the shrine of the Union and their 
devotion to tlie Constitution of the Republic. That dream of despairing trea- 
son, tiie estalilishment of a Pacific republic, though for long years cherished in 
secret as part of the plan to make feasible a southern confederacy, had no charm 
to allure the people from their firm allegiance. 

Tiiough the Democratic party had, up to the inception of this rebellion, a 
majority consisting of almost two to one of the votes of the State with it, and 
the chosen leader of it had been long the recipient of the confidence and highest 
honors of the people of the State, and in the interests of his treasonable party 
association forgot his own allegiance, yet all these influences failed to drag the 
people of our State from the lofty height of patriotic duty. With every reason 
that partisan association and prejudices could devise to seduce them from the 
paih of patriotism they stood fast and true, and I stand here to-day to express 
my gratitude to the thousands of patriotic Democrats who, in-defiance of the 
ii>tluen*es that had demoraiized their party in the interests of secession and 
placed its organization in the hands of its friends and sympathizers in the Pa- 
cific States, nobly rallied to the side of the constituted authorities and have been 
their firm and unwavering supporters through all the storm and doubt of this 
fierce rebellion. 

With these facts illustrating the Unionism of the masses in the State from 
which I come — and perhaps from the locality, more than anything else, feeling 
less interest in those questions, the decision of which in favor of the North by 
the presidential election of 1860 furnished the pretext for this rebellion — and 
having no bitterness to revenge upon political enemies, I repeat, sir, I came here 
with an honest desire and an earnest purpose to co-operate with men of all par- 
ties in aiding to restore the authority of the Government, and, 1 might add, with 
the belief that among all parties in this great and glorious work the Govern- 
ment would find friends. A few months, however, sir, passed in the States upon 
this side of the continent prior to the opening of the present session of Con- 
gress dispelled that hope and belief which 1 had so ardently cherished, and 1 
ifound myself compelled to choose between two parties upon this floor, as clearly 
defined in principle and purpose and as antagonistic to each other as two po- 
litical parties can be under the same Government and yet maintain the public 
peace. 

1 find, it is true, some gentlemen upon the other side of the House who evince 
occasionally both by voice and vote an earnest purpose to aid the constituted 
v'^uthorities in maintaining the integrity of the Republic, but I regret to say that 



they seem too few in number and feeble in influence to materially affect the ac- 
tion of their party ; and I have yet to hear the boast of last winter on this floOr 
that the Democratic party, arrayed against the Administration, was a "war party," 
or has any longer any such pretensions. 

As a Union man, therefore, representing a tlioroiighly Union constituency, I 
could find no other friends upon whom I could safely rely to honestly labor 
for the restoration of the national authority than those with whom it has been 
my pleasure and honor to act. 

The pretense upon which the Democratic party carried the election a year 
ago, that tliey were for a more vigorous prosecution of the war, seems now no 
longer insisted upon, and even those who thus succeeded on a belligerent plat- 
form are to-day understood to be as fully indoctrinated with the "peace princi- 
ples" that propose to disarm this wicked rebellion of its bloody purpose by 
some scheme of concession to its guilty authors as the known champion of 
southern interests, Mr. Vallandigham himself. 

But I do not make this charge upon that party upon the basis of its action 
during the past summer only. 1 go further, and affirm that from the time it 
drove men like Johnson, of Tennessee, Holt, of Kentucky, Dickinson and 
Cochrane, of New York, Conness, of California, and Noell, of Missouri, and 
men like them, outside the pale of its organization, it has been an anti-war 
party, and a substantial ally of this infamous and treasonable rebellion which 
seeks to destroy the best Government that human wisdom ever devised. 

The fact'ihat such men, the soundness of whose partisan opinions was never 
impeached, were compelled to renounce their associations, is sufficient evidence 
of the real animus of the organization, but the developments of the last y^ar 
are sufficient to establish from their own declarations that the charge which I 
have made against them is as disgraceful as it is true. 

Why, sir, turn to the Journals of this body at its last session. On the 19th 
day of December, 1862, the bill making appropriations for the Army was voted 
upon; and you will find that of the forty-eight members upon that side of the 
House voting that day only ten recorded their votes in favor of the passage of 
the bill. Thirly-fivc absented themselves at roll-call, and three^ Avith a manly 
boldness, which is an honor to their sincerity though little to their patriotism, 
voted against the bill. There, sir, stands their record on the practical question 
of pay and supplies for the gallant armies that were then fighting to maintain 
the honor of the Republic, and whose wounds yet bleeding and fresh from the 
terrible slaughter of Fredericksburg found neither comfort nor aid at the hands 
of their Democratic brothers in this House, who had in many cases urged them 
to volunteer and go into the war so long as it was hoped that such a course 
would make McClellan* President, and who utterly forsook them so soon as 
they found that their political expectations from the Army were not to be real- 
ized. And to show t!ie inconsistency of those who oppose the Government fn 
prosecuting this war, some of'the same gentlemen who refused to record their 
votes in favor of a bill which gave wages and clothing and food to our brave 
soldiers who were facing the enemy in deadly conflict, have been voting resolu- 
tions to increase the pay of the same men at the present session. Last year 
they would have had the Government violate its contract to pay them iiy leav- 
ing it without the means ; this year they propose to pay them more than the 
Government agreed. This inconsistency in action is explained by its entire 
consistency of purpose; by leaving them wilhoiU any pay last year they hoped 
to create disaffection toward the Government-, then by telling them that they 



oiight to have more pay tlian they now get, tliey seek to foment disaflection 
now. To weaken and demoralize the soldiers in the field being their purpose, 
this singularly diverse action is easily understood. They assail the Government 
and seek to gain possession of the citadel of its power in as many ways as the 
burglar does who striving to enter the house wliich he proposes to rob, tries 
first to break his way with sledge and bar. and failing resorts to the nlilder 
means of a false key, and foiled in all, rings the bell and asks admission to the 
parlor of his victim in the character of a gentlemen ! 

To prove how soon the Democratic leaders of the country became disciples 
of peace after the removal of General McClellan from the command of the army 
of the Potomac, 1 have but to refer to a few facts known to the country as part 
of the history of the time. Even the energetic member from Ohio, [Mr. Cox.l 
who is so frequently and prominently before tlie House, and who only a sliorl 
time since deliberately voted and spoke in favor of a resolution to send com- 
missioners to Jefferson Davis to sue for peace, only one year ago was one of 
the most active friends of volunteering in his section of the State ; and yet, sir, 
strange as it may seem, this rampant "war man" anterior to McCIellan's re- 
moval, lapses in a few revolving moons into a meek advocate of an inglorious 
peace, and the warm supporter of his late colleague, Mr. Vallandigham, for the 
office of Governor of the State of Ohio. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus 
from the character of a firm persecutor of tlie disciples of the Prince of Peace 
into that of an humble follower is said in his own account to have occupied 
three days, and the process was considered sudden, although the shcjck was so 
great as to produce temporary loss of siglit. How long the gentleman from 
Ol^io labored under conviction before he rejoiced in the light of a new life v.-e 
may not precisely know, but in mercy to the subject let us hope that the good 
Providence who watched over both the ancient and modern conversion permit- 
ted the latter's mental vision, as a less punishment, to be totally obscured, but 
did not allow the three days of bodily agony which the apostle suffered, ""sor- 
rowing without meat or drink." 

But, sir, 1 will leave these personal reflections and call attention to other tes- 
timony. 

The State of Indiana has shown by every act of her patriotic people that she 
was emphatically in favor of crtishing the rebellion by force of arms ; and the 
conclusive evidence of that is found in the creditable fact that in the President's 
various calls for troops she has always exceeded the demand made upon her. 
And yet the Democratic committee of her Legislature, chosen in the very height 
of the. war fever which swept through tlie Northwest in 1862, in the winter 
following issued an address in wliich this quotation occurs : 

'■The State possesses no power in tbeorj or in fact to stay the armies which novr stand 
in battle array ; and though the Christian and humane mind of Indiana might desire to see 
\\^ efi'usion of blood prevented, it alas ! is powerless to stop the carnage which is hurrying 
her sons to early and 'stranger' graves." 

See the smooth folds of the secession viper beneath this ingenious sentence. 
IJer people are told that their sons are filling ''■s/ra/j^er" graves; that when 
they pass beyond the limits of their own State tliey are upon "stranger" soil ; 
that though the national flag waves alike in supremacy of law over every rood 
of ground that ever acknowledged the national authority, yet wlien the brave 
defenders of that authority march to its defense, when treason has torn it from 
its place, they are told that they are marching upon "stranger" soil, and invading 
the land of a foreign enemy. They continue: 



"The committee are flir from thinking that war is the rightful remedy for our national 
t-i'oi! Jles : the V- believe the reverse to be true;" &c. 

So much for tlie peace organization which so suddenly sprang into vigorous 
existence at the period of our national adversity a year ago in the State of Indi- 
ana. I turn now to Connecticut, one of the New England States. The party 
having control of the Democratic organization in that Slate placed in the field as 
their candidate for tlie office of Governor at the last annual election, a gentleman 
who, in a letter which was said to have been addressed by him to a southern 
rebel — as to the trnlh of this I cannot speak, but the authenticily of the letter 
lias, I believe, been admitted — declared that — 

" I abhor tlie whole scheme ol" southern invasion, with all its horrible consequences of 
rapine and plunder." * * " Thousands of us are beginning to see there 

can be no Union got in this way." •■■ ,* •■■ " Those who drive the car of 

war at this time have no more idea of saving- the Union by their bloody sacrifices than thev 
have of changing the course of nature." 

In speaking of the new levies of that )'ear for troops he characterizes them as 
demands " for the hospitals, the marshes, the ditches, and gunboat shambles ;"" 
and winds up his dolorous epistle by denouncing the war for the Union as an 
"•iniquity which [he] would be found exposing to the end of the chapter;" and 
adding that " things have gone so far now that the only possible chance [to re- 
store the Union] will be by the adoption of a Christian policy, very different 
from that which at present prevails at Washington." 

See how skillfully the doctrine of secession is tfgain made to underlie this 
whole letter. The attempt to take possession of the property owned and held 
by tlie Government in the Southern States, and disperse those who were seeking 
the destruction of its admitted authority with arms in their hands, is called "« 
schc}7ie of Southern invasion.,''' as if this Government had not a right if necessary 
to occupy every foot of the national territory. This talk about the " invasion " 
of Southern territory shows how fully the Democratic organization of the pre- 
sent day has been imbued with the idea of State supremacy which was the po- 
litical heresy from which all our present troubles have come, and sounds 
fitrangely at variance with the denunciations which have been applied within the 
last few weeks to the honorable gentleman from Pennsylvania who sits near nie, 
[Mr. Stevens,] for annoimcing what they call a similar doctrine. Like the ine- 
briate who fancied that his friends were intoxicated, and he only sober, these 
gentlemen charge^pon others the sin which is most apparent in themselves, and 
I suggest to them me language of Scripture, "• First cast out the beam out of thine 
own. eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother''? 
eye." 

This letter was written in July, 1862, months before that Christian policy 
which the writer alluded to was adopted at Washington. I mean (what he did 
noti the policy of calling to the aid of the national forces the sympathies and 
assistance, die hearts and hands of the slaves that hud tilled the fields and grown 
llie subsistence upon which the insurgents depended. So that whatever excuses 
others might have given for their opposition to the war, growing out of the 
emarjcipation of slaves, the author of this letter can now plead no such apology. 

I will not occupy my lime in reading extracts from the speeches of Vallan- 
dighain, or from the letters and utterances of Judge Woodward, or of Wickliffe 
of Kentucky, to prove the unfaithfulness of the Democratic party to the duty of 
prosecv.ting this war, as its sentiments are proclaimed by its chosen leaders in 



8 

the various States. Suffice it to say that the proof is ample and overwhelniiiig. 
If anything further were wanting, it is found in the votes of the minority upon 
this floor since the beginning of the present Congress. 

It was well said by a friend who sits near me, that when the wants of the 
Government were such that their aid was not needed, it was tendered with alac- 
rity •, but when measures which most required unanimity were demanded it was 
jiersistently and factiously refused by the minority. 

The bill authorizing bounties for volunteers, when it could be used to post- 
pone the only just and sure method of fdling up the wasted ranks of the army — 
by draft — was readily sanctioned ; but when the bill for the perfection of the 
system for calling the necessary forces into the field, demanded by every con- 
sideration of patriotism and duly, was pending, it was delayed day after day by 
tedious efTorts at amendment, and at last passed after hours of frivolous waste of 
tin^e in dilatory motions to impede its passage. 

Sir, the same impatience of control and denial of the right of the majority to 
rule, which this Southern rebellion has exemplified, finds its counterpart upon 
this floor. Why was it, sir, that we wasted two days, in large part, upon this 
iioor in deciding dilatory motions by yeas and nays, a proceeding which the 
people everywhere view as not only disgraceful, but which, if persisted in, would 
lead to a suspension of the legislative branch of the Government, and finally to 
anarchy and revolution ? And where, sir, is the American citizen who would 
not blush when told that the measure, the passage of which was thus savagely 
resisted, was simply a resolution affirming the language of the Constitution on 
the subject of the punishmi^nt of treason ? It is because, sir, they are a party of 
revolution, allied in principle with the causes which led to this rebellion; and, 
much as they may seek to conceal it, the sympathy between them will, despite 
all their efforts, color their line of conduct. And, sir, if you want to know 
whether those gallant men who are bearing our flag through the storm of battle 
to a final triumph have met with a temporary check, look into the smiling coun- 
tenance of some gentleman who anathematizes this "•abolition war." You can 
tell from his complacent brow that it is unnecessary to patronize the newsboy to 
the extent of the price of an evening paper to get the news. Your country's 
reverses are written in the smile that plays sneeringly on the features before you. 
And if you want to know how Jeff. Davis's heart beats, take your friend by the 
wrist, and you will soon get the guage of the rebel pulse. 

I do not mean that these remarks shall apply to all who are associated with 
the minority in this House. I am happy to know that there :are exceptions to 
this general tendency of the policy of that party, and I regrfet to be compelled 
to say they are but exceptions and nothing more. 

While ] am upon this subject permit me to allude for a moment to the extra- 
ordinary spectacle presented on this floor on the day of the organization of this 
body. By the singular rule adopted by the Clerk of this body at its last ses- 
sion, a number of gentlemen found themselves likely to be defrauded of their 
right to seats on this floor. And then and here we witnessed a develop.nient 
which startled men for the moment, of a deliberate conspiracy to disfranchise a 
number of the loyal States, and by 'k quibble, as narrow as it was mean, give 
the minority the control of the organization of this House. And, sir, the men 
who always and persistently claim that they are for the rule of the people were 
here voting to sustain that infamous conspiracy. 

The State of Louisiana, steeped as she is in the crime of treason, without 
any organized government except what the General Government has established 



9 

over her by force, without State officers, and without even the semblance ot a 
fair election or legally autiienticated certificates, sent here two men to claim 
seats upon this floor, the name of one of whom was written upon the secession 
oitiinance of the State when she forgot her allegiance to the LFnion ; and thougli 
all these facts were known to the world, in defiance of all decency they took 
their places on the floor of this Hall. And not content, sir, with this outrage 
upon the privileges of this House, the Representatives from loyal States that 
had never been in rebellion or in sympathy with rebellion were excluded from 
their places, while these interlopers, who had no more right than a sinner has 
to a seat in heaven, were quietly installed in these cushioned chairs in the na- 
tional Congress, And to prove conclusively that all this had a partisan purpose, 
members elected by a majority counted by thousands, as was the case with my- 
self, were not only excluded by this arbitrary ruling of the late Clerk, but when 
the motion was made to insert their names upon the roll of members of the 
House, the whole vote on the other side of the House, including the two who 
were swindled in from Louisiana, was cast solid against us. Talk about the 
crime of secession! What term of reproach can truthfully characterize this bold 
attempt to disfranchise whole States at a single blow ? Gentlemen have shown 
a great deal of indignation at the alleged usurpations of the military in regard 
to elections. I do not apologize for these things if true ; but I do say that such 
affected indignation comes with an ill grace from those who deliberately -cast 
their votes on this floor to disfranchise whole States by a legislative decree. 
Sir, legislative usurpation is no more tolerable with me than military usurpa- 
tion ; and with this record behind them I should think that our friends on the 
other side would not have much taste for discussing the question of the dis- 
franchisement of the people. But enough of this. I am merely stating the 
reasons which have operated on my mind as a Union man, whose sole object 
and purpose here are to serve the cause of our imperiled Union, and to give 
every aid and assistance that I can to its authorities in maintaining its integrity, 
for co-operating with those on this side of the House. 1 have indicated tlie 
objects and animus of the organization of the peace party on this floor and in 
the country, and shown that neither taking its professions or practice is it to be 
trusted, and now, sir, I desire to state affirmatively why I go heartily with the 
gentlemen elected as Republicans and as Union men, who occupy seats on this 
side of the Cliamber. 

We are in the midst of the grandest struggle of either ancient or modern 
times. A war whose gigantic proportions stretch along a navigable line of coast 
and river some five thousand mile^in length ; that embraces an area of territory 
larger than was ever before submitted to the arbitrament of a single contest, in- 
volving an expenditure of money and of life which has no parallel in modern 
history, has been for two years and a half drawing upon the resources and ex- 
hausting the energies of our people. A war begun strictly on our part in selt- 
defense, and conducted with all the mildness which a kind-hearted Chief Magis- 
trate could throw into the contest, it has at last reached a point where one side 
or the other 7nust be conquered. Begun in order to perpetuate and aggrandize 
an institution the very existence of which in our free Government has ever been 
a standing reproach in the eyes of the civilized world, and has almost neutral- 
ized our example as a republican nation, it has gone on increa,sing in intensity 
and bitterness until no one pretends, with any sort of reason, that the cause of 
the war can survive the struggle. Slavery, in a moment of folly, mad with its 
own power, precipitated a conflict that can now only end in its destruction. 



10 

Without cause, and, I may add, without excuse, tlie champions of slavery 
began the war, made its existence an issue, and now, sir, they must take the 
consequences of their action. As an institution which it was thought the na- 
tional Government dare not attack, it was made the bulwark Jjehind which re- 
bellion was to intrench itself in safety; and staiiding as it did in front of the 
enemy, as its breastwork and defense, we were compelled to either demolish it 
or give up the contest. It is the very life of military success that we strike our 
enemy where he will most keenly suffer from the blow. If we mean to be vic- 
torious we must do that which will inflict upon him the greatest injury and 
harm us the least; and, sir, by destroying slavery in the rebellious States we 
deprive our enemies of every essential element of success. We not only de- 
stroy the means of success but we destroy the motive to rebel. Take away 
slavery and they have notliing to fight with and nothing to tight for. Hence, 
sir, I stand with the Union party of this House. The destruction of the insti- 
tution in the rebel States is a necessity to the restoration of the Union, and I 
am for standing by those who will enforce that policy. 

it is my misfortune to differ with many gentlemen around me in regard to the 
* capacity and destiny of the African race. While slavery was undermining white 
society and threatening its ruin it did little by way of enlightening the slave; 
and I am glad to know that there are genilemen on this floor, who do not share 
these opinions with me, and who believe in the capacity of the freedmen to be- 
come prosperous residents and owners of the soil, who nevertlieless are look- 
ing to the means of freeing him from the contact with demoralizing influences 
and the prejudices of a large portion of our people. I hail with pleasure, there- 
fore, sir, every suggestion which looks to their voluntary emigration from among 
lis; and when my friend from Pennsylvania [Mr. Kelley] the other day al- 
luded to their natural tendency toward the tropical latitude of this continent, he 
presented a suggestion which, if properly improved, will prove a wise and prac- 
tical solution of a problem of our social existence which is liable to become a 
dangerous and disturbing question. Sympathizing fully with the necessity for 
emancipation, it will nevertheless bring evils upon portions of the country which 
the highest wisdom can only modify, not neutralize. 

Sir, if I may be permitted to say so here, I will say that I never was an abo- 
litionist. It is not perhaps to my credit that I am not. I never believed in that 
wire-drawn theory of the transcendental reformers who insist upon the propriety 
of conferring equal political and social privileges upon all races. I do believe, 
and always have, that every man had a natural right to his liberty, and that could 
only be taken from him when the good and safety of the communitj' were in- 
volved. Slavery I always hated as an abomination in the sight of God and all 
good men ; but because I deny the right for you to enslave Sally and Dinah I 
do not admit that I am bound to marry one or the other, and because I deny 
that you have he right to sell and appress the negro I must place him in the 
same relative position with other white citizens. Natural rights are God-given 
and inherent, and I concede them to all; political rights are relative, conferred 
by the State, and may be given or withheld as the body politic may deem best. 

Entertaining these opinions, I confess I have always been too conservative to 
be able to adopt the opinions of the party known in the history of the country 
as the abolition party. But these are, for the present of course, only abstract 
opinions, and I do not choose to discuss them. I only present them that I may 
not be understood to concede doctrines which I deny, or that such concession 
is involved by the grounds which I assume. 



11 



that ol'e7i;i'?J^'' '"'-^ '^' ^-'^^^^^ous territory is 

t at othe. plan for ar.n.ng (he freed popi.lation. We all realize what a chanee 

io^ And""''^'",f'' ^"''f ^"^''™",^^ ^^ ^^^ --^O- in relation to thifq ef- 
the ouol 'o^ ir 7 '' ''^T'' ^^'^P^^PJ'^ i» the pressure for men to fill 
he quota, ol roops demanded were willing to waive their prejudices in relu- 

iTe"cl™e to tr '^ r"°'"' "^' ^"^^^ ''' ''■'''''^'' '^ -"'^ be i'tai;; d or 

vo un ee the ft tTttlT^Vr'' ^^.'"P^""^"^^'T ^^ "^^ prowess of the colo'red 

■ Lnnlov^^^^^^ f) P"^^'' sentiment not only justifies but demands their 

employment wherever they can be used to crush this rebellion. Jt not onlv 

po^-er h7:tl^ T'r' "" '^'■"■^^ '''' '''^'^y'"'^ ''- ^'-^ ^^ "^ -bel 
sib^e! ' '''"''"'' ^^ ^'^^ institution of bondage impos- 

thilmnf °"'''/^r' "'''''' ''^' prejudices of the northern people Ion. prevented 

h^ ebe sCre tol "-^^"f^ U k' "' ^T'^^'^^'^S ^'- p'wer of the'rebel o 
the rebels were too wise to be betrayed into such follv. AVithin one month 

ll.e iuUoli^lZiSiZ'i 7.'"" '", °"'" !° '■"'■'; ?"' 'bA»-ov;sl„„s of tl.is act it shall I,. 
M ,0 ; i nua,e?™?l'a i:r™,r,r.'nZ-''^f%^'"'' '° '»"«! ««•""'« ".formation' 
l^visio. of ..,s ac, an,, S. ':.'"l,";: llSoafl^^^n; 1^1; tl^^ r„ Se 

number is obtained '"' '''"''''''' '^ P'""'' ^'^^'^ i'^'-^O'^s until the requisite 

This act to take effect from and after its passage." 

Earnestly engaged in the struggle for rebellious success they did not stop to 
qmbble over the color of Ue fingers that drew trigger upon\he oW rs^ of 
the Union but wisely determined that help was what°diev needed, and whethe 

came in the shape of white or black men they accepted it fo the good of 
their cause. They set iis the example of arming the negro, and they W ,u 
ngh to compla-n if we fight them with weapons 1.f their^ou'n choosmi 

At New Orleans prior to the Federal occupation of the city they had a fuH 

Ki Biitler w^as made of the same men who had been conscripted under rebel 
rule, but embraced the first opportunity to desert to us and declare for the uln 
J do not stop to mqun-e into the constitutionality of the emancipation of 
slaves and their employment in the armies of the Union ^ 

.o lilt 'f^T!^^ ^'■^^^^'^" ^f f «PPli"& at the throat of the nation it is no time 
to higgle about the means of defense. If any man's code of action was st ch 



12 

ihat he coiikl not defend himself from the assault of a robber or an assassin 
v»'ithout violating it, he deserves to be mulct or murdered ; and if the occasion 
arose when he must break his rule or lose his life I should honor his breach of 
a creed not worth preserving. And, sir, if the framers of our Constitution so 
made it that our Government was to have no powers of resistance when as- 
sailed by traitors it deserves the destruction to which such an instrument would 
be doomed. Such a construction of it would be an imputation upon Its illus- 
trious authors of an imbecility which my respect for their memory will not per- 
mit me to indulge. I have no scruples on that score. I do not believe that 
when a traitor raises the sword to strike at the heart of the Union he has a right 
to cram the Constitution into the face of its defender, and say, "You have no 
right to take life without due process of law." By the very act of resistance 
to it he loses all the benefits which it confers upon the citizen. 

I will not insult the memories of those who framed our Constitution by in- 
timating tliat they made a Government which when it most needed it had least 
power; committed the supreme folly of making a Government that could only 
exist by sufTeVance, and was at the entire mercy of any set of traitors who might 
seek its destruction. Sir, they did not do it. It is of the very essence of Gov- 
ernment that it possess tlie power of self-preservation, as it is of life that its pos- 
sessor has tbe right to preserve it by any means which necessity demands. A 
Government that does not possess this right is a cheat and a shadow. Do gen- 
tlemen who deny the right of this Government remember the history of their 
own party ? 

The last administration under Mr. Buchanan spent $20,000,000 in subduing 
a petticoat rebellion in the mountain-girt Territory of Utali. No lack of power 
was found while the rebels consisted of only a large assortment of females, but 
when ihe champions of slavery were in arms instead of the exhausted defenders 
of polygamy, we suddenly discover a great want of power! 

But, sir, I have a little authority on this subject which I desire to submit. 
Within tlie recollection of all of us, Mr. Chairman, Jefferson Davis was Secre- 
tary of War of the United States. During the progress of those disgraceful, 
scenes which reddened the virgin soil of Kansas with the blood of brothers, it 
pleased the Chief Magistrate of the nation to declare certain classes of our citi- 
zens there in a state of rebellion. They denied tliat resistance to the bogus laws 
forced upon them by a Legislature elected by a Missouri mob was rebellion, but 
the Administration claimed that it was, and Mr. Davis, as Secretary of War, or- 
dered the military forces of the United States to disperse those people wherever 
found, and here is an extract from his letter of instriiction to General Persifer F. 
Smith, then in command of that department : 

" The position of the insurgents is that of open rebellion against the laws and constitu- 
tional authorities, with such manifestations of a purpose to spread devastation over tbe land 
'as no longer justifies further hesitation or indulgence. Patriotism and humanity alike 
require that releUion should be promjitly crushed." 

"We have heard of "chickens coming home to roost,*" and I think a better 
illustration of this homely adage was never found than in this case. What he 
said in 1856 I echo ill 18(34: "Patriotism and duty alike require that rebellion 
should be promptly crushed." Sir, when he was in authority and others were 
supposed to question it, no difficulty of a constitutional character was found to 
prevent his crushing it; no right of the majority to prescribe their own govern- 
ment, nowadays called secession, was permitted to intervene between rebellion 
and punishment. 



13 

As to the lawful rights of those in the rebellious territory I have no clifficullv. 
I believe neither in the doctrine of Slate rights 'nor State suicide. A loyal citizen 
(>f this Gove'rnment cannot have his rights taken from him by the act of iiis 
neighbors. The result of their action may deprive him of the means of asserting 
and exercising them, but they exist in him legally unimpaired. And a man who 
repudiates his duties to this Government can, in my opinion, claim nothing from 
it. The doctrine that a Slate can commit political suicide is completely answered 
by that provision of the Constitution which says tliat the "United States shall 
guaranty to every State in this Union a republican form of government." It is 
made Pur duty to preserve what a majority of the cit'zens of a State might seek 
to destroy, the integrity of the form of the Slate government; and so long as one 
man within its limits stands by his allegiance and defies the ride of rebellion, he 
has a right to claim from this Government the enforcement of the covenant. 

Entertaining these views, I have no hesitation in indorsing the plan of the 
President for restoring the State govermnents. It looks to their preservation in- 
stead of annihilation, and presents a practical plan by which the-consiitutional 
guarantee can be made effective. The preliminary oath required seems to me 
to be without objection. The complaint that it is an imputation upon the loy- 
alty of a faithful citizen seems frivolous. As well might a man claim that to 
require an oath to speak the truth as a prerequisite to delivering testimony in a 
court of justice was an impeachment of his veracity. This tenderness about 
taking extra-constitutional oaths has its origin in a sympathy for traitors which 
I think is too apparent to be misunderstood. 

But our friends on the other side insist upon having the "Union as it was, 
and the Constitution as it is;" a very pretty ad capianduni phrase, but in mv 
humble opinion a very senseless one. Are our friends in earnest when they sav 
I hat they want another rule like that which swayed this Government under 
Buchanan .? Do they desire to witness the recurrence of those disgraceful events 
which brought a stain upon our national honor which can never be wiped away .'- 
Are they willing even for the sake of the spoils to see us again wallowino' in the 
slough of infamy into which the last Administration plunged this nation } Do 
ihey hunger so for the flesh-pots of Egypt that they are willing to see us pros- 
trating every interest, State and national, to the perpetuation and fosterino- of that 
foul curse and reproach to the Republic, human bondage; when Cobb squan- 
dered the public moneys till the public Treasury became bankrupt, and your 
bonds fell to seventy-five cents on the dollar in a time of profound peace ; when 
Thompson embezzled the funds which had been sacredly intrusted to his care 
to aid in the humane and charitable purpose of elevating the savage from a state 
of barbarism to that of civilization; when Floyd remained in authority that h.e 
might rob and steal on a scale commensurate with his unrivaled capacity ; when. 
in fact, every department had become so corrupt that the whole fabric came niah 
tumbling to pieces from its own rottenness.? No, sir. They will pardon me 
when I say I doubt their sincerity. '^The Union as it was ?" as well might you 
«eek to crowd the condor who soars among the snowy summits of the Andes 
into the tiny shell from which he sprang, as to replace the American Union in 
the same position which it occupied prior to this rebellion. 

Sir, these three long years of bloody, wasting, devastating war have not 
taught us a useless lesson. The noble martyrs who liave gone down in this 
fierce struggle for the nation's existence and regeneration, have not made their 
last sacrifice for the barren, fruitless result of restoring the very condition ol 
things which superinduced the strife. It was for no such ignoble purpose that 



14 

ihe gallant Lyon died on the plain of Springfield, or tliat oilier martyr from my 
own far-off State, the lion-hearted, the eloquent Baker, whose bravewords rang 
ihrough this nation like a trumpet-blast calling its people to the defense of the 
national honor. It was for no such trifling purpose that he fell, the murdered 
victim of a traitorous commander-in-chief. Go ask the martyred brave who 
people the graves that line the swamps of the Peninsula, and rest in the lonely 
tombs tiiat rise on the banks and bayous of the Mississippi, if they are willing 
that their sacriHces should end in replacing the Union in the same condition it 
was when this wanton, bloody and infamous rebellion begin. It is enouo-h to 
make them start from their dust to suggest the inquiry. ARer our terrible expe- 
rience in taming this monster of slavery, we arc not "going to leave the serpent 
with his Aings undrawn. The people of this nation, who have yielded up so 
much of life and treasure in this wicked rebellion, will never be content until 
they can know that its recurrence is impossible; and gentlemen might as well 
talk of recalling the past, or of reanimating the fallen dead, as to talk of the 
Union as it was. 

Mr. Chairman, I am for the Union with every star in its place, redeemed, re- 
generated and purified, as it will be By this war. 

And now, sir, I wish to make a^few observations in regard to our duty here. 
^ This war has shown one thing 'clearly, and that is, tliat the people on both 
sides are in earnest. And I may add that if in this respect there is any differ- 
ence, the rebels are more thoroughly in earnest than are we. Myself, a native 
of a Southern State, and knowing the spirit thab animates that people, I can under- 
stand (he desperate energy which they have thrown into this contest. I do not 
believe the tales that have from time to time been told us with regard to the 
affection of the people for tlie Union, and their forced submission to the rebel- 
lion. They are, in my opinion, the most thoroughly united people in this con- 
test that ever threw down the gage of battle. Every slaveholder is fighting with 
ihe desperation of despair to retain his property; and the poor white man who 
serves in the ranks is fighting with no less determination to prevent being placed 
by the law on an equality with the slave. It may be said that this latter feeling 
is all prejudice, and I may grant it. Still it is a fact; and for proof of the 
strength and bitterness of that prejudice, I appeal to loyal members from the 
slave States who sit around me. 

In my observation the bitterest and most unreasonable pro-slavery men are 
those who never owned a slave, and never will. However wrong they mav be, 
they will remain so till this war has been fought through. s - . • 

And right here, Mr. Chairman, let me say that I cannot agree with those hu- 
mane ideas so frequently advanced on the other side of the House that you 
ought not to confiscate the property of the rebel in arms— that by doing so 
you drive him from repentance and prolong the war. I cannot comprehend the 
principle which permits us to take life with Christian propriety but is shocked 
at the thought of taking property; and, sir, if we can take life ''without pro- 
cess of law," as a means of putting down this rebellion, can we not take prop- 
erty for the same purpose ? As to our confiscating property being an incentive 
to them to continue the contest, they had thrown Uieir all into the contest t>e- 
fore, and nothing but success could save it to -them. 

But to return to the subject. To-day, with all his defeats and reverses, Jen! 

Davis defies us with the best army that the confederacy has seen men who 

when set in the stern strife of battle are the equals of any in the wide wor](5. 
Tlie rebellion is compressed, cramped, but it is not broken ; and f^enilernen de- 



15 



.eive themselves who think we are to^ave an ^^^^^^ -^'i o.: 
single misfortune to Grant or Mead •^'gh P'^^^^^^ .^^^ ,,, j,,,- ,„ look the 

object than we are ^^'^^f > .^ Inroeoare ^ 

danger that threatens -^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ at Stone river after h. 

of this war. Why was it that *^«^/^J*"; 7^ , , j^ ,,,^,^1 of men and meu.:.s 

hard-won victory and the retreat of B.- gg . ^^^;*; "^^ p^,,,,,,, had huritd 
to follow. Why was ;t, -'\^\''lJ'y,CZX hills of Gettysburg, th.t 
back the discomhtted ^«g>«";, ' ^f'.^^",^, Potomac" on our side, he yet e.- 
wuh victory, Provulence, and the Pfj^^^^J^^^^^^, ,he men and the means 
caped safely uUoV.rgm.a It w^^^^^^ ^^. ^^.^^^^^ ,^^ g^,^„, „ ,ke,- 

to follow. And lastly, wtien,Dentdui I Ge'tvsburg— stormed the 

♦•^^l^''^- , r r 1 <,, ioQr>>i n^ no lesson, or shall we gather frnjii 

thai stern call wh.cl, e.ery ™;;""/4^f ,?,'';,"„ "^ .l.eir i.™.. 

existence is a, stake-recrut 'j ™ """ ;;^,:';,„,,,,, ihe r.<c„,m,la.u,g .lebt. 
Sir, .nir national ore.lt is f.'™7 /"■'"'' =j „f i,, comiunance a<l<ls more 
We cannot affortl to prolong ihis war. Every day o. 

than its nnllion Jollars ir. the pnbljc debt a.„l "^ ^^^f' ^ ,;, ^ve cat, e-Kl 
Cuick snbjngation *r provule lor a coUaps^. '^^^tZ Iron, Ohio J.Mr, 
this war in the next <^'>'"P'''S"; .!/''' |"a^", he staltttc-book, wonld end 
ScHENCKl couUI draw an act wh.ch, 1 P^^^^f^ ^^ 1 ,,;„ „jj u,at ! am 

all organized "l-^l''";';":;;;;, * , f'on c ip o tw as he has the courage to 
'T'f r" '';;:i wl^ vta oU,; hnnoonrb"; resolntions abont increased w^e, 
ask lor. And \Miiie \/e ai , pi-ovide the money, 

to the soldiers, I hope 7;^^^^; ^^fj^/^^^^j hi, resolution to raise the pay o( 
When the g^"^!^'^^'; '^^^^'f i^^ e,^^^^^^^^^ alone, I voted in the negative. 1 
soldiers, unconscious that 1 wa. ^^'^^ '" f demands upon our Treasury aJ- 
did It, sir, because we were '"^^Jf^^^;' ^^ , .^ilt ^to promise to pay men who 
ready crowded its resources ; an was mvUL ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^.^ ^^^^j^, 

'-! "^ amt; tz:zx::^i^:^^^ ^^^^ ^^^'^--^--^^ '- ---'- 

purpose the Replenishing of the Army ^'"'^;^'^ T/^ .'j'^.V.e.s of vision wh.ch 
^'resident, while, with an honesty opurpoea.cl^ a a^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ 

prove him one of the most ^l»"«^";^"^,;"Xnl of rebellion ; and having inus 
Sirects the plans which are to ^-^e 1- ^ l^^^-^^^^.^^ .,,„. State which 

humbly f "gg'- ^';V^v,;^{j.^,f4ov ,;? opl^ who live among her mountp..^ 
:::^:U^ti:^;^:h'-i^-^ Fatlast had sought to provide agai .t 

' S:t^ M? C^S:^;pish . sa>^a ^w^^ in ...nee to the^per^^ 

^^s:^:['^r^^^ :::m::: ti^^^?.h^:afi.cted by u. ch.n,c .. 



w 



16 



iho standard of value, and yet they have made no complanit. Very many of 
Ihem are cheerfully serving in the Army of the United States and receivmg as 
nav what is equivalent to not more than seven dollars a month, and at places 
where it requires nearly seven dollars a day to live. Notwithstandmg that such 
is the case, and that gold is the standard of value recognized m that country I 
have not received a petition from a single soldier askmg that they should be 
paid in gold and not in greenbacks. , • rvr T^ i i *i. 

Now I put it to the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Dawson] and those 
Avho aaJee with him that when those men are willing to receive greenbacks, the 
lawful "currency of the United States, there is no good ground ot complaint to 
imhice us to amend this bill as proposed. 



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